Enough is Enough
by She's a Star
Summary: Takes place at the end of 7th year. Minerva says good bye to the infamous trio and attempts to help Hagrid get over Dumbledore's death.


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Enough is Enough

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by She's a Star

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the marvelous J.K. Rowling, who will have many dead fans on her hands if she doesn't get that 5th book out soon.

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Author's Note: This idea just came to me....the first ship I recognized in the HP books was actually Hagrid/McGonagall, and I find them absolutely adorable together. :) Perhaps I'm just strange...anyway, the romance in this is _very_ light, if there really even is any...it can just be considered friendship if you find the couple too disgusting. :) Also, I know that Minerva's a few years older than Hagrid, but for the purpose of this fic, let's pretend they were in the same year at Hogwarts, 'kay?

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Dedication: To Cryssie, just because it's your favorite ship ever! *flashes a sickeningly sweet grin*

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~*~

The Hogwarts grounds were practically deserted as Minerva McGonagall stepped outside, the air unusually brisk for early summer. Though the term had only ended moments before, the majority of the students had already made their way to Hogsmeade, ecstatic laughter and excited chatter ringing softly in her ears.

As a matter of fact, only three of her former pupils remained.

Potter, Weasley, and Granger, inseparable as usual, hung back, staring at the castle with expressions of bittersweet remembrance on their faces. Granger looked close to tears, and as she sniffled audibly, Weasley awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Potter stood a bit away from the both of them, seemingly lost in a reverie filled with memories of the seven years at Hogwarts.

They'd amount to great things, all three of them; Minerva was sure of that. Naturally, Potter would become a legend in their world, more so than he already was. He was genuinely brave, a true Gryffindor. 

Granger's intelligence would surely get her a successful job at Gringotts, the Ministry, or the like...Minerva could see her teaching at Hogwarts quite easily as well. There was no doubt that her future would be a great one.

And then there was Weasley: logical, selfless, and completely unaware of all that he could amount to. He never failed to lose his calm, something that even Granger couldn't control.

He was also openly smitten with the girl, and for four years Minerva had been biting her tongue to refrain from snapping out that they should just admit their obvious affections for one another. 

"Potter," she called out, her crisp tone filling the air, "Weasley, Granger."

Weasley immediately winced; an automatic response after being scolded so many times for misbehaving in class, she assumed. Granger looked rather eager, as she always did in class when awaiting a question that she knew she'd be able to answer correctly. Potter, on the other hand, didn't react for quite sometime; instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the castle until Ron elbowed him lightly in the stomach.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?" Granger asked at once, tone filled with a genuine respect that had won Minerva's heart the first time she'd met the girl. 

Professor McGonagall quickly made her way over to them, allowing a small smile to spread out across her normally stern face. It seemed only yesterday that they'd come to Hogwarts as nervous first years, barely over eleven. Though really, they hadn't changed much; Potter was still quiet and a bit withdrawn, Granger always willing to learn, and Weasley constantly mischievous.

"Congratulations," she praised them all tersely. "I have no doubt in my mind that you'll all accomplish great things."

"Thank you," Hermione's cheeks flushed in pleasure, and Ron mumbled a sheepish, "Thanks."

Harry only responded with a short nod, his green eyes seeming far off. Minerva knew that the abundance of deaths in the past few years had scarred him, especially Dumbledore's downfall. 

"Potter," she muttered grimly, "You can't go about blaming yourself. Leave the past in the past; that's where it belongs."

He responded with a dazed nod, and Minerva briefly wondered whether a single one of her words had registered in his mind in the first place. It certainly didn't seem so, but she knew he needed time. 

It was the only thing that could heal the wounds that had been implanted into his soul.

"Now, you'd better be going," Minerva instructed them. "You don't want to miss the train."

The trio slowly drifted away from her, walking at a pace to rival a snail's. It was clear that none of them wanted to leave, and Minerva couldn't blame them: it was a frightening thing, leaving the security of your childhood and stepping out into the real world for the first time. 

But she had faith in them, and knew that if anyone could do it, they could. 

A wry smile twisted up the corners of her lips as she watched Weasley casually brush his hand against Granger's, swinging his arm purposely each time he took a step. 

Not able to resist the urge any longer, Minerva called out after them, "And Weasley?"

He whirled around at once, as though afraid of being scolded. "What?"

Fighting to keep her expression completely solemn, Minerva responded calmly, "Just do the whole school a favor and tell Miss Granger how you feel about her. It's painfully obvious, if I do say so myself."

Weasley's ears immediately burned a horrific shade of crimson, and he studied Granger with panicked brown eyes. 

"Hermione, that's rubbish," he immediately protested as his ears reddened even further. "Complete rubbish...heaping load of-"

"Oh, _Ron_!" Hermione cut in exasperatedly, throwing her arms around him and pressing her lips to his own. The first smile that Minerva was sure Harry had worn in a long time spread across his lips as he watched the exchange between his best friends. 

"Professor McGonagall?" he asked after a moment of studying Granger and Weasley in amusement.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Do you think that you could go and try to get Hagrid to come out of his hut?" he asked worriedly. "We've been trying at it all day, but he won't even answer us."

Minerva felt a small pang in her heart: Albus's death had devastated Hagrid perhaps the most of all the Hogwarts staff and students. He'd adored the eccentric headmaster more than anyone else, up until the very end.

"I'll try, Potter," responded Minerva grimly. "But I'm not promising anything."

"Thanks," Potter said gratefully before yanking Ron away from Hermione and informing him with a playful grin that they were going to miss the train. After inspecting her watch quickly, Hermione exclaimed, "Goodness, he's right!" 

With that proclamation, the three sped down the path to Hogsmeade, Granger and Weasley hand in hand.

Sighing heavily, Minerva watched them disappear down the winding road before fixing her gaze on Hagrid's hut. Getting him to leave it seemed a nearly impossible feat; many members of the staff had attempted at it, even the normally antisocial Severus Snape. 

"Well, Rubeus," she murmured to herself, "You have to come out into the world again sooner or later."

She strode efficiently across the grounds and rapped on the wooden door quickly. The only response this action got, however, was the sound of Hagrid's muffled sobs and a few excited barks from Fang.

"Rubeus Hagrid, open this door!" Minerva commanded in her best 'do what I say or else' voice that she'd perfected over nearly forty years of teaching. This voice had caused many a student to quiver in fear, and, on one occasion, even accidentally transfigure their best friend into a badger in a fit of sheer nervousness.

However, judging by the effect it had on the desolate Hagrid, she might as well have been whispering whimsically in a quite laughable manner a la Sibyll Trelawney. 

"Rubeus," she tried again, a bit more gentle this time, "You can't hide away in there forever, you know."

Luckily, this time she actually got a reply.

"Wy'not?" sniffled Hagrid miserably from the other side of the door.

"Life has to go on, Hagrid," Minerva said awkwardly. "Albus wouldn't want you locking yourself away from the world like this."

A great heavy sigh filled her ears, and the door swung open to reveal a very disheveled looking Hagrid. 

"Fine," he said dismally, rubbing at one eye with a gigantic fist. "Fancy a cup o' tea?"

"Yes, thank you," Minerva responded crisply, patting Fang distastefully on the head as his pink tongue excitedly licked her hands. 

Hagrid set the huge kettle on the stove before sinking down into a chair and holding his head in his hands. Voice muffled, he muttered to her, "Dunno how Hogwarts is going ter go on without Albus."

"Rubeus, I assure you that I am a qualified and able headmistress."

"Oh, I don't doubt yeh, Minerva," he responded, a sad smile blossoming upon his scruffy face. "It just won't be the same without Dumbledore."

Minerva gave him a quick, rather terse smile in return.

"I know, Rubeus, but we'll just have to keep the school running as usual," she said briskly. "It's what Albus would have wanted."

Sighing again, Hagrid responded weakly, "Yer know, that's what I've always respected about yeh, Minerva. Yeh never back down, no matter how hard things get."

"Thank you, Rubeus," Minerva said softly, forcing a smile. "Someone has to keep things going around here."

"Well, I'm glad it's you."

"Thank you," Minerva said again, accepting the cup of tea that Hagrid placed in front of her.

"Remember when we were still at 'Ogwarts?" Hagrid asked, grinning. Minerva was relieved to observe that his tone sounded a bit lighter.

"Like it was yesterday," she replied, soft laughter escaping her lips. 

"The best o' friends," Hagrid remembered fondly. 

"Inseparable," Minerva threw in. She sipped her tea, then added, "You know, it devastated me when you were expelled."

"Yeh were probably the only one," Hagrid said bitterly, taking a swig from a teacup twice the size of hers. "The other kids never liked me much. Were always makin' fun of me behind my back."

"Oh, Rubeus, you know that some people are far too naive to accept differences," Minerva said awkwardly. 

"Bloody prejudice fools, the lot of 'em," Hagrid declared, his knuckles turning quite white from gripping his teacup so tightly. "Probably thought I'd murder 'em in their beds."

"If it comforts you in the least bit, Rubeus, I never thought you any different than anyone else."

Hagrid smiled dimly. "Yeah...yeh were the only one who didn't think I was some sorta monster. When there really was one in our midst."

"Riddle," murmured Minerva, biting her lip nervously at the memory. It was so strange to fathom, that the boy she'd shared classes with and seen every day would grow up to become the most feared Dark Lord of their time, perhaps even ever. 

The Dark Lord that would destroy Albus Dumbledore.

"Sometimes I wonder what went wrong with 'im," Hagrid said softly. "To make 'im act the way 'e did...could it have been changed? 'E seemed so innocent...so much like..."

His voice drifted off, but Minerva knew what he had meant to say. She'd of it frequently ever since she'd first laid eyes on the boy.

So much like Harry Potter.

"Harry won't be like him," Minerva said, more to herself than Hagrid. "Harry Potter is different; he _defeated_ the Dark Lord, he won't turn out like him."

"I know," Hagrid said, sinking down into a chair next to her. "But sometimes yeh just can't help but wonder..."

"No," Minerva said firmly after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "No. Enough is enough, Hagrid. The Dark Lord, all the deaths...it's in the past now."

"Yeah," Hagrid agreed. "But there's only so much time 'till it happens again."

"And we'll meet it when it does," Minerva announced briskly, sipping the last of her tea and standing up from the table. Fang attacked her affectionately once more, and after scratching fondly behind his ears, she bid her old friend good bye and stepped out into the chilling air, hoping upon hope that darkness soon wouldn't consume their world once more.

FIN


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